Roland Foods Italian Farro, Pearled, 17.6 Ounce

OMG, Coliva!!! ("dish based on boiled wheat that is used liturgically in the Eastern Orthodox Church for commemorations of the dead") Not being Greek Orthodox, for me coliva is just dessert, without the sad connotation... After 50+ years, I had a craving for it & started to google for answers, as I wasn't even sure what was it made of (never before did I make it myself). Found a Romanian recipe calling for "arpacas" (translated as pearl barley?) and still not sure if I should use pearl barley or wheat. The "health" craze gets really confusing and after extensive research I ultimately understood the difference between hulled, pearled, farro, wheat, etc. I took a chance on this form (pearled), thinking: what have I got to lose. Then came: how the heck do I cook this to come up with coliva. So I went for a smaller sampler, combining cooking instructions from recipe and reviews. I used 1 cup Farro & 2 cups water (one review recommended 2.5-3 & bag says 4c water). In 15 min of slow simmering it was the absolute perfect texture: crunchy, not mushy, grains popping in the mouth. So I stopped the cooking but I still had to drain maybe half cup of water, when I was hoping I would have to add a bit more & was planning to use milk instead. Being a dessert (NO health concerns here, just spoil your taste buds...lol) it asks for sugar, raisins, walnuts. I skipped the sugar & used about 1/3 cup vanilla coffee creamer instead (life is short...), as I still wanted the "milk" taste in the grains & raisins and just too impatient to wait for the dried fruit to soak in milk (or rum...;-). While still hot, I mixed in the chopped walnuts, raisins, dried papaya, dry sour cherries, cinnamon, and orange peel. (hey, after improvising everything else, why not just go to town and add a little bit of this and a handful of that?) WOW is all I could say. Tears of joy...I was beaming with pride when my husband, a bona-fide Greek Orthodox indeed, said: wow, this is really good! I bet it would be even better with a touch of rum, Amaretto, or any other flavored liqueur, roasted coconut flakes, almonds, or other baking spices/essence, depending on your taste buds. Just use your imagination and make sure you "portion" it appropriately. It might be addictive...

I love this Farro! It is a wonderful whole grain to serve with many things. It is a big part of the Mediterranean diet, which is all about the whole grains, vegetables, fruits and more! Farro is so good, it’s like a splurge…and it’s filling too!

This grain is so good and healthy. Cooks quickly and has a nutty flavor that is addictive. Makes a good salad even better. 😋

Pricey but very tasty. Suggest cooking in broth instead of plain water

I was looking for this product in my local grocery store and I couldn't find it anywhere. I'm glad that I was able to purchase it on Amazon. So I have already cooked it and used it in a salad. The taste was good, nice and healthy, and high in protein, just what I needed for eating healthy.

This farro is great and is cheaper than I can find it at my regular grocery store. My only issue is that it is pearled, not semi-pearled farro. If you look at the photo of the product, it clearly says pearled on the label, however it says semi-pearled in the title which is what I was looking at when I ordered it. A lot of the labeling of farro seems to be confusing so I tried to compare cooking times, but the only instructions for how to cook the farro are "boil until tender" which is not very helpful. Most of the recipes I want to make call for semi-pearled farro which is why I went to the trouble of ordering it online, so it was frustrating to receive pearled farro. However the pearled farro seems to be working fine in my recipes, I will probably just continue to err on the side of less water and check it earlier than recipes call for.

I bought this to try a grain that has more Nutrients than rice or pasta. It was delicious! I made a farro salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, sun-dried tomatoes and feta with Greek dressing. It was a huge hit! I intend to find other ways to use farro in my recipes. I will definitely buy this again.

I keep ordering this because I love it and it is really good for you. I add it to side dishes and desserts to give extra texture. Its nutlike mild flavor goes with everything.